United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL – Get Free Report) and Air France-KLM (OTC:AFLYY – Get Free Report) are both transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares United Airlines and Air France-KLM”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| United Airlines | $57.74 billion | 0.42 | $3.15 billion | $10.97 | 6.80 |
| Air France-KLM | $32.49 billion | 0.08 | $1.01 billion | $0.21 | 4.42 |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings for United Airlines and Air France-KLM, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| United Airlines | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 3.06 |
| Air France-KLM | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
United Airlines currently has a consensus target price of $102.33, indicating a potential upside of 37.08%. Given United Airlines’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe United Airlines is more favorable than Air France-KLM.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
69.7% of United Airlines shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.9% of Air France-KLM shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of United Airlines shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares United Airlines and Air France-KLM’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| United Airlines | 5.52% | 32.26% | 4.84% |
| Air France-KLM | 0.39% | 19.62% | 0.34% |
Volatility & Risk
United Airlines has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air France-KLM has a beta of 1.74, indicating that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
United Airlines beats Air France-KLM on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About United Airlines
United Airlines Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional fleets. It also offers catering, ground handling, flight academy, and maintenance services for third parties. The company was formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to United Airlines Holdings, Inc. in June 2019. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
About Air France-KLM
AIR FRANCE-KLM is an airline company. The Company’s core business is passenger transport, cargo transport, and aircraft maintenance services. The Group is the world leader in terms of international passenger traffic; and its cargo activity (not including integrators) and is one of the world’s major maintenance service providers. The Group structure is simple: a holding company with two airline subsidiaries. Air France-KLM has established a set of clearly defined commitments to ensure that its strategy of profitable growth goes hand in hand with environmental quality and social progress.
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